Jack of all Hobbies: One man's quest to alleviate his boredom

Sunday, 3 May 2015

A couple of years ago, I started writing a blog on
hobbies.People said it would be fun and
it would give me a lot of writing practice.I searched the internet for places to blog and settled on blogger
because it came so highly recommended.Most people explained that it was easy to use, looked pretty good, and
that I had a chance to make some money.That all sounded attractive to me.

They were quite correct.Setting up the blog, and others, was quite easy.I generally liked the look of it and was
quite satisfied with the results.I
tried my hand at the money thing in various incarnations but failed to cash in
on that.This was the result of a
combination of overzealousness by my students and a lack of page views .If you don't attract the people, you probably
won't be the next internet sensation.

Nonetheless, I soldiered on.What I found was that I liked the writing and I enjoyed the small amount
of interaction with readers.It just
didn't grow at all, and very few people left any comments.At the time, I figured this was normal, but I
wondered why blogging was popular if you didn't get a lot of comments.

Then a funny thing happened.I started a blog on WordPress (the free one) because I just wanted to
write something different.While it
isn't a runaway hit (or featured on Freshly Pressed) it did seem to garner more
of a following.I realized that WP did a
better job of promoting within itself, and creating a community of bloggers.

So that's why I am here.I am hoping for a bigger audience and greater interaction.Only time will tell, but I am quiet
optimistic. Please visit my blog at this location.

The Name

When I started on Blogger, I called this blog Jack of All
Hobbies.I thought I was being
witty.I figured people would get the
allusion to jack of all trades, master of none.Instead, people just thought my name was Jack (which it isn't) and I
wasn't smart at all.I probably should
have changed the title, but by then it just seemed like too much work.As of now, I am trying to decide if I should
be "A Man with Too Many Hobbies" or "Too Many Hobbies--So Little
Time."Please let me know what you
think.

Tuesday, 14 April 2015

It is weird where hobby inspiration comes from.I get the itch to start a new hobby quite
easily.Often it is from talking to
people.When someone is passionate about
something, then you can't help but be intrigued.Often it is from television.Exposing the masses to something will
certainly catch some people's interest.Most recently for me, it was from a book.

Looks pretty and organized.

I started reading Lawrence Block's Hit Me on a
recommendation from a friend.He had
recommended another series by Block, but I couldn't find them in the library so
I settled on this one.The basic story
was that of a contract killer who loves..... wait for it...not alcohol.Not fast cars.Not loose women......stamps.

The character (his name is Keller) had such passion for
stamps.He also had a lot of knowledge
to impart on this impressionable reader.He detailed the equipment and literature, as well as quite a lot of
historical information about stamps.

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When I was young I shared a stamp collecting hobby until
that person took it over and became obsessed with it.I don't even know what became of it
afterward--probably someone benefited from it.Either way, I do remember looking at the stamps and thinking of exotic
places.I loved the themes--trains,
cars, paintings, space travel, .... the ideas were endless.For some countries, it is really interesting
to see what they value enough to put on stamps.Of course, for some countries, they are hoping other people from foreign
countries will value them enough to collect them--hence the Disney stamps
produced by some countries--I guess some country has already produced a Frozen
stamp.I wonder if that is a big part of
their GDP. (note...I checked, and yes, a stamp already exists)

﻿﻿﻿

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I would love to have this one.

As for me, yes, there is an itch....but I won't even scratch
this one.There is just too much out
there.Too many stamps from too many
countries.While the tool collector in
me loves the idea of all those specialist tweezers, there is just too much
involved.On top of that, since I really
am more interested in the pictures than the collecting aspect, I would be
better off buying a full colour catalogue.I could enjoy the hobby is a much more confined way.

As for the novel....I enjoyed its episodic nature and
reading about stamps.It was
entertaining and certainly made my commute more enjoyable.

Sunday, 5 April 2015

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter.
For those of you doing hobbies, I hope you get a chance to do them today. I would have written a post about Easter eggs...but that is one hobby I have never pursued. Additionally, I have already ranted about Kinder Eggs on my other blog. Kinder Disappointment (Please take a look if you haven't already.) I figured it would be pointless to do it here as well.

Sunday, 29 March 2015

Blogs are funny things.Maybe at first it is an exercise in writing.Perhaps it is practice for a future writing
career.Maybe it is even therapeutic.Primarily, so we think at first, we write them for ourselves, but then things
change.We want to attract readers and
comments.We want to interact, or at the
very least be recognized for our contribution.

I have read countless articles on how to attract
readers--increase traffic, if I am to use the jargon of the trade.I have read numerous stories of writers being
approached by companies to pitch their products, or at the very least, review
them.I have read blogs by people who
seemingly make their living off them.

I don't mean for this to sound all negative.Instead, I just want to understand my
feelings toward it a little better.I
want this blog to attract readers, but have started to think that it is
difficult.Unlike WordPress (where I
write a different blog) there doesn't seem to be a way to get other bloggers
interested in this one.The
"featured blogs" haven't changed since I started and choosing
"next blog" often leads me to blogs written in languages I can't
understand.

The tales of financial independence seem equally distant.While I appreciate the ability to plug in
third person advertising, it hardly seems profitable.No one has approached me with review jobs and
very few comments have indicated where to find this.

The odd thing is, despite all that I have written, I have no
intention of giving up on it.In the end
it may not offer financial salvation, nor even any real growth, but I still
enjoy putting the words on the screen.I
still enjoy expressing myself.I guess
blogging has become my hobby.

Thursday, 12 March 2015

I think it is well chronicled on these pages that I have a
weakness for tools.I've written a
number of posts about it, and taken more pictures than I should.I also have to admit that I open the Canadian
Tire and Home Hardware flyers first--well before the food.Whenever I visit those stores, I always walk
around the tool sections, hefting the wrenches and drills when opportunity
allows.

So it should come as no surprise that bike ownership can
also include some tools.

When I purchased the bike, I asked what tools I would
need--this is probably the kind of words a salesman dreams of hearing.However, they said I would need a pump, a
multi tool and some tire levers.The
assured me the bike comes with a several tune-ups and there was much less
maintenance than a mountain bike.

Being at the bike show, I couldn't resist picking up this
tool.Will I need it?Doubtless, there are ways to measure chain
wear without this tool--but .....tools are cool.I like tools.

As you can see, it was a moment of weakness.Fortunately for me, it isn't a big ticket item,
and it didn't break the bank. It was cheaper than I have seen it at bike shops and even online shops. It isn't like I bought the entire Park Tool Master Kit.

Sunday, 8 March 2015

There is something about going to a bicycle show that really
gets my heart pumping.I go to walk
through row up on row of bikes and stuff.There were mountain bikes, road bikes, hybrid bikes and cross
bikes.There were tools, tires, clothes
and helmets.The best way to describe it
would be to call it a toy store for adults.

The only thing that bothered me was the entry price.I find it rather unfair that one has to pay
to go shopping.It is like having a
daily admission price to Costco.The
price was 15 dollars, and I would rather have spent that money on something
else.However, I know there are a lot of
costs in putting a show like that on (security, rentals etc) but they could
have at least given us a break on the food.

I would have to say that cycling is rather popular.There were so many people who were interested
in cycling.And most of them were also
very friendly.

I didn't go to the show to shop, but rather to find out
about cycling vacations.I am really
interested in going on a cycling trip somewhere.I collected quite a few route maps and found
quite a few cycling destinations.Now I
just have to get in shape because some of the routes seem rather ambitious.

As for swag--I was hoping for more.I came home with lots of trail and route
maps, some back issues of magazines and even a tool catalogue.However, I was expecting more.I hoped for some socks, or a t-shirt, maybe a
free water bottle... something.I guess
it isn't a car show.

Sunday, 22 February 2015

Over the last week or so, there has been a lot of talk about
the imminent rebuilding of the Toronto Maple Leafs.Additionally, there has been a lot of talk of
"tank nation" in which the Leafs would throw the remaining games to
better improve their odds of gettinga
draft pick.

Yes, I'd love to see him in a Leaf uniform.

While I certainly welcome a complete and sincere rebuild, I
am not so sure about the idea of playing to lose.As we have already seen, losing becomes a
habit.If we start lowering our compete
level, can we get it back?

There are some other problems with this idea.

The "superstars" that we are going to be trading away will want to look good for their future team.They want to be sought after by strong teams, not weak teams.Playing to lose won't improve their value on the trade market.That's a lose-lose proposition.

The team seems to have lost without trying to lose, so maybe we should just let nature take its course.

Once we have jettisoned our free agent talent, or older players, or overpaid players, or whomever we let go, I suspect that the team won't be in any position to compete anyway.Losing will happen, whether we want it to or not.

What kind of mood will be left in the dressing room by a team that gave up?

These players have been competing for their whole lives.Can we expect them to unlearn that behaviour?

In the end, we will just have to see how things turn
out.I welcome your opinions.

About Me

What do you do if your life is bursting with hobbies. What do you do if you really can't concentrate on one thing for any real length of time. What do you do if you can't afford therapy for this sort of thing. I guess you write a blog about it.